Pocket access

ABSTRACT

Example embodiments of the present disclosure comprise a pocket access for providing rapid and secured access to the interior of a pocket.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to providing rapid and secured access tothe interior of a pocket.

2. Description of the Related Art

Whether in a golf bag, backpack, briefcase, purse, an item of apparel,or any other structure, pockets are ubiquitous. Some prior art pocketaccesses provide rapid access, yet are not secure (items are at risk offalling out). Other prior art pocket accesses are secure, yet do notprovide rapid access (e.g., zippers, Velcro®). What is needed in the artis a pocket access that provides both rapid and secured access to theinterior of a pocket. The present disclosure addresses this need.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in, andconstitute a part of, this specification, illustrate variousembodiments, and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure.

FIG. 1A illustrates a pocket access in accordance with exampleembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B illustrates a resilient flexible member of a pocket access inaccordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a pocket access in closed and openconfigurations, respectively, in accordance with example embodiments ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a pocket access having an inner lip in accordancewith example embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of various embodiments herein makes referenceto the accompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way ofillustration. While these various embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical, chemical, mechanical and structural changesmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented forpurposes of illustration only and not of limitation.

For example, the steps recited in any of the method or processdescriptions may be executed in any order and are not necessarilylimited to the order presented. Furthermore, any reference to singularincludes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than onecomponent or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, anyreference to attached, fixed, connected, coupled or the like may includepermanent (e.g., integral), removable, temporary, partial, full, and/orany other possible attachment option. Any of the components may becoupled to each other via bolts, dowels, glue, stitching, welding,soldering, brazing, sleeves, brackets, clips or other means known in theart or hereinafter developed. Additionally, any reference to withoutcontact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimalcontact.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure comprise a pocket accessfor providing rapid and secured access to the interior of a pocket.

With reference to FIG. 1A, in example embodiments, a pocket access 100comprises a plurality of opening sides 110, 120. Opening sides 110, 120are arranged in parallel in example embodiments, and may be formed of,or otherwise defined by, any fabric, textile or other flexible materialknown in the art, for example, nylon, polyester, cotton, blends of theforegoing, leather, synthetic leather, polysynthetic leather, Gore-Tex®,tarpaulin, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylenevinyl acetate, or the like. In example embodiments, adjacent portions ofopening sides 110, 120 comprise a low-resistance surface that allows auser's hand to easily slide through pocket access 100 into and out of apocket 150.

In example embodiments, at least one of opening sides 110, 120 furthercomprises a resilient flexible member 130, 140. For example, one openingside can be rigid and another opening side can comprise a resilientflexible member 130, 140. In other embodiments, described infra, openingside 110 and opening side 120 comprise resilient flexible members 130,140, respectively.

What follows now is a further description of resilient flexible membersin accordance with example embodiments. While such embodiments will bedescribed with reference to resilient flexible member 140 and openingside 120, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that, unlessotherwise specified, the description may be applied to resilientflexible member 130 and opening side 110.

In example embodiments, resilient flexible member 140 is disposed inopening side 120, for example in a channel 122 defined in opening side120. Channel 122 can be defined by stitching 124, one or more folds 126in opening side 120, and/or an adhesive.

In general, resilient flexible member 140 comprises an undeformedconfiguration and a deformed configuration. In example embodiments, theundeformed configuration is longitudinally linear and the deformedconfiguration is longitudinally non-linear, for example, having an angleor curve. The deformed configuration may be predisposed by one or moreweakened or scored portions in resilient flexible member 140.

With momentary reference to FIG. 2A, when the resilient flexiblemember(s) is/are in the undeformed configuration, pocket access 100 isclosed, so as to prevent items from unintentionally falling out throughpocket access 100. Turning to FIG. 28, when the resilient flexiblemember(s) is/are in the deformed configuration, pocket access 100 isopen, and can be large enough to accommodate entry of a user's hand andwithdrawal of an item through opening sides 110,120.

Turning back to FIG. 1A, in example embodiments, resilient flexiblemember 140 in a deformed configuration has a structural or material biastoward an undeformed configuration. In example embodiments, the bias canbe activated, for example, by manually urging resilient flexible member140 toward the undeformed configuration.

With momentary reference to FIG. 1B, resilient flexible member 240 canhave any suitable cross section along its length, and such cross sectioncan vary along its length, for example, vary at ends 245 of resilientflexible member 240 so as to protect from abrasion against channel 122of opening side 120. For example, and as described in greater detailbelow, the shape of the cross section of an example resilient flexiblemember can comprise a circular arc, a segmented arc, a circle, an oval,a square, a rectangle, a toroid, a trapezoid, or the like.

In example embodiments wherein the cross section of resilient flexiblemember 140 comprises a circular arc, the length of resilient flexiblemember 140 comprises opposing concave and convex surfaces 142, 144,respectively, similar to a “slap bracelet.”

In such embodiment, resilient flexible member 140 can be arced and thusmay have a radius of curvature R. The width can range from about 10millimeters (“mm”) to about 40 mm, or preferably about 20 mm.

In various embodiments, and with momentary reference again to FIG. 1B,the cross section of the resilient flexible member 240 comprises asegmented arc shape. For example, resilient flexible member 240 mayinclude one or more linear bends 247 disposed between substantiallyplanar panels 246, 248. In various embodiments, for example, theresilient flexible member 240 may include a central panel 246 and twolateral panels 248 that are coupled to or integrated with the centralpanel 246 at two linear bends 247 and that extend in an angledorientation from the central panel 246. In various embodiments, theangle of the linear bends 247 (i.e., the angle between each lateralpanel 248 and the central panel 246) is between about 165 degrees andabout 175 degrees, or preferably about 173 degrees. The resilientflexible member may have a single linear bend between two planar panels,two linear bends separating three panels (as shown in FIG. 1B), threelinear bends separating four panels, etc.

The thickness can range from about 0.1 mm to about 0.4 mm, or preferablyabout 0.2 mm. Notwithstanding the foregoing, persons skilled in the artwill appreciate that the radius of curvature R, the width, and thethickness may vary in proportion to the length of resilient flexiblemember 140.

In various embodiments, resilient flexible member 140 comprises amaterial that is capable of resilient deformation and is flexible, forexample, a plastic, a metal, an alloy, a shape-memory material (e.g.,nitinol), a composite, or the like. In various embodiments, resilientflexible member 140 is made from a manganese steel alloy. For example,resilient flexible member 140 may have a composition that comprisesabout 65% manganese and about 35% steel. While in some embodiments,resilient flexible member 140 may comprise a hinge or spring element, inother embodiments, pocket access 100 is completely devoid of any hingeor spring element.

Resilient flexible member 140 can comprise a coating, for example, toprotect a channel of opening side 120 from abrasion, or to impart adesired tactile or auditory response upon resilient flexible member 140moving from a deformed configuration to an undeformed configurationand/or vice versa. Resilient flexible member 140 can be magnetic orcomprise a magnetic coating or feature.

In embodiments wherein one opening side is rigid and an adjacent openingside comprises a resilient flexible member, the rigid opening side canhave a dimension that corresponds to a dimension of the resilientflexible member and/or otherwise complements the shape or configurationof the resilient flexible member, for example, a full or partiallyconcave surface to engage with a convex surface of the resilientflexible member.

With reference again to FIG. 1A, in embodiments wherein adjacent openingsides 110, 120 comprise resilient flexible members 130, 140,respectively, convex surface 134 of resilient flexible member 130 canface convex surface 144 of resilient flexible member 140. Resilientflexible members 130, 140 can comprise the same or different dimensions,whether the radius of curvature R, the width, and/or the thickness.

In example embodiments, resilient flexible members 130, 140 are separateand are not in direct contact with each other. Resilient flexiblemembers 130, 140 can be arranged in parallel and can be offset, forexample, to nest relative to each other.

With reference now to FIG. 3, in example embodiments, a pocket accessfurther comprises an inner lip 118 along its length. Inner lip 118 canprevent items from unintentionally falling out through the pocketaccess. Inner lip can be defined by a resilient flexible member enclosedin opening side 110 as described supra. In such embodiments, a channelinto which a resilient flexible member is disposed may be stitched orotherwise secured to an opening side on less than all of its edges, forexample, on 1, 2, or 3 edges of a rectangular channel, with theunsecured edge(s) forming inner lip 118.

A pocket access can further comprise an overlying cover which, whenopened, urges a

resilient flexible member from an undeformed configuration to a deformedconfiguration, to thereby open the pocket access. By way of non-limitingexample, the edges of an overlying cover can be secured to the edges ofa channel into which a resilient flexible member is disposed.

The present disclosure further includes methods of use and methods ofmanufacturing. In various embodiments, the method of manufacturingresilient flexible member may include a heat treatment of between about250 and 300 degrees Celsius for between about 10 and 20 minutes.

While various embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedwith reference to a golf bag, the present disclosure is not so limited.For example, a pocket, in accordance with example embodiments, can be ona golf bag, backpack, briefcase, purse, an item of apparel, or any otherstructure commonly known in the art as having a pocket, whether for usein an activity that is primarily recreational, professional, academic,outdoor, indoor or otherwise.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present disclosurewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, itis intended that the embodiments described herein cover themodifications and variations of this disclosure provided they comewithin the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in thepreceding description, including various alternatives together withdetails of the structure and function of the devices and/or methods. Thedisclosure is intended as illustrative only and as such is not intendedto be exhaustive. It will be evident to those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications can be made, especially in matters of structure,materials, elements, components, shape, size and arrangement of partsincluding combinations within the principles of the invention, to thefull extent indicated by the broad, general meaning of the terms inwhich the appended claims are expressed. To the extent that thesevarious modifications do not depart from the spirit and scope of theappended claims, they are intended to be encompassed therein.

We claim as our invention the following:
 1. A pocket access forproviding rapid and secured access to the interior of a pocket; thepocket comprising: a first opening side, the first opening side having achannel comprising a resilient flexible member, the resilient flexiblemember comprising an undeformed configuration and a deformedconfiguration; and a second opening side.
 2. The pocket according toclaim 1, wherein the resilient flexible comprises: at least two planarpanels and at least one single linear bend; wherein the flexible memberhas a width ranging from approximately 10 millimeters to 40 millimeters;a thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeter to 0.4 millimeter; and an angleof linear bend between 165 degrees and 175 degrees.
 3. The pocketaccording to claim 1, wherein the resilient flexible member has a crosssection that comprises a segmented arc shape.
 4. The pocket according toclaim 1, wherein the resilient flexible member consists of a singlelinear bend between two planar panels, wherein the angle of the singlelinear bend is approximately 173 degrees.
 5. The pocket according toclaim 1, wherein the resilient flexible member comprises a central paneland two lateral panels that are coupled to the central panel and twolinear bends that extend in an angled orientation from the centralpanel.
 6. The pocket according to claim 2, wherein the resilientflexible member comprises a thickness that is preferably 0.2 mm.
 7. Apocket access for providing rapid and secured access to the interior ofa pocket; the pocket comprising: a first opening side, the first openingside having a channel comprising a resilient flexible member; theresilient flexible member having a width ranging from 10 millimeters to40 millimeters and a thickness ranging from 0.1 millimeter to 0.4millimeter, the resilient flexible member having at least two planarpanels, wherein the resilient flexible member further comprises anundeformed configuration and a deformed configuration; and a secondopening side.
 8. The pocket according to claim 7, wherein the crosssection of the resilient flexible member comprises a segmented arcshape, a circle, an oval, a square, a rectangle, a trapezoid or thelike.
 9. The pocket according to claim 7, wherein the resilient flexiblemember consists of a single linear bend between two planar panels,wherein the angle of the single linear bend is approximately 173degrees.
 10. The pocket according to claim 7, wherein the resilientflexible member comprises a thickness that is preferably 0.2 mm.
 11. Thepocket according to claim 7, wherein the resilient flexible membercomprises a structural bias toward the undeformed configuration.
 12. Thepocket according to claim 7, wherein the resilient flexible membercomprises a central panel and two lateral panels that are coupled to thecentral panel and two linear bends that extend in an angled orientationfrom the central panel.
 13. The pocket according to claim 7 wherein theresilient flexible member comprises a magnetic coating.
 14. The pocketaccording to claim 1 wherein the second opening side comprises a secondresilient flexible member.
 15. The pocket according to claim 7 whereinthe second opening side comprises a rigid material, having a dimensionthat corresponds to the dimension of the resilient flexible member. 16.A pocket access for providing rapid and secured access to the interiorof a pocket; the pocket comprising: a first opening side, the firstopening side having a channel comprising a resilient flexible member;the resilient flexible member having a width ranging from 10 millimetersto 40 millimeters and a thickness ranging from approximately 0.1millimeter to 0.4 millimeter, the resilient flexible member furthercomprising a central panel at least two planar panels integrated withthe central panel, wherein the resilient flexible member furthercomprises an undeformed configuration and a deformed configurationwherein the undeformed configuration is longitudinally linear and thedeformed configuration is longitudinally non-linear, and the resilientflexible members each further comprise a coating; and a second openingside, the second opening side comprised of a rigid material.
 17. Thepocket according to claim 16 wherein the resilient flexible membercomprises a magnetic coating.
 18. The pocket according to claim 16wherein the resilient flexible member comprises approximately 65%manganese and approximately 35% steel.
 19. The pocket according to claim16 wherein the resilient flexible member comprises a structural biastoward the undeformed configuration.
 20. The pocket according to claim16 wherein a linear bend between the at least two planar panelsintegrated with the central panel has and angle between approximately165 degrees and 175 degrees.